Soul Mate
by Lirenel
Summary: *Challenge 20: Soul* Caspian thinks of Susan and their good-bye kiss. References to Suspian shipping. Any warnings can be found on my profile.


**Title: **Soul Mate**  
Disclaimer: **I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia, etc.**  
Note: **The answer to challenge 20: Soul. Prince Caspian movieverse, but it does veer into Dawn Treader territory so spoilers for that book. This basically takes place after Susan leaves Caspian at the end of Prince Caspian and how he (realistically) deals with it. Not my best writing, as I wrote it in under two hours, but I needed to get my feelings on this matter across.

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As nice as the kiss had been, it had caused more problems than it was worth. In fact, there was many a time Caspian had wished that, if Queen Susan _had _to kiss him, she had at least done so in private instead of in front of everyone and their neighbor. Unfortunately, after the Four Sovereigns had left, the High King and Queen Susan forever, Caspian became not only the sole ruler of Narnia, but also the "poor young man who lost his true love". The Narnians, thankfully, tended to be more practical about the situation, and were inclined to only tease their new king slightly about his relationship with Susan. The Telmarines, on the other hand, were still getting used to the idea that Aslan's will was for the best, and so could not help but bemoan the loss of King Caspian's soulmate.

To be fair, Caspian _had_ been attracted to Susan. Who could not be? She was absolutely beautiful, with long, black hair against pale skin and bewitching eyes framed by dark lashes. From the moment they met, Caspian fully understood why so many men had fawned over Queen Susan during her reign, how some had even gone to war over her. If she was this lovely as a young woman not yet fully grown, then at the height of the reign of the Four she must have been stunning. And her beauty was matched by her strength; Caspian had been amazed when the Gentle Queen had accompanied them on the raid of the Beaversdam Castle and then fought in the final battle. She was as brave as she was beautiful, noble of face and heart.

So yes, Caspian had been attracted to Queen Susan, and he thought perhaps that she was attracted to him as well. Yes, they had flirted, and yes, they had kissed. Yet Caspian was perfectly sure that Susan was _not_ his soul mate, his one true love without whom he could not live. He supposed he could not blame his people for being confused. They had not heard the meaning hidden behind their last words together, before the kiss. Caspian had wished that he and Susan could have spent more time together, perhaps see if their small flirtation might turn into something more. Susan had just smiled, and told him that there could never be anything more than dear friends. He could see in her eyes that she meant this beyond the simple fact that she was leaving. Susan continued, reminding him of something that he had nearly forgotten in his starry-eyed crush: she was already a queen. She was one of the Four Sovereigns who had ruled together in almost perfect harmony. That was her time, her strength, when four siblings reigned equally over a Golden Age. She did not belong in this land, so terribly dark and different from the one she knew. It would break her heart, and he would not be enough to fix it. Their souls were not bound by anything greater than a keen friendship and admiring respect. And so Susan had kissed him good-bye and Caspian had accepted that his fate lay elsewhere.

Unfortunately, the ramifications of their farewell lasted much too long for Caspian's comfort. For some two years after his coronation, well-meaning subjects were still trying to console him over a loss he no longer felt. Some even dared attempt to circumvent Aslan's will with spells and prayers meant to return Queen Susan to Narnia. The latter Caspian had put down firmly, angrily rebuking those who worked against Aslan, against the Lion's decree that Susan would remain in her own world. The Telmarines soon learned that the dismissal of the authority of Aslan was not to be tolerated by their king.

Three years later, finally, _finally_, Caspian's people seemed to accept that he was not heartbroken over losing Susan, that he wasn't wandering around his castle bemoaning his terrible loss. This, however, also began a new movement among Telmarines and Narnians alike: the quest to find their king a queen. Caspian quickly attempted escape by setting off on a great quest of his own, that is, to find the seven lost Telmarine lords who had sailed towards the utter East. Sailing on the _Dawn Treader_, Caspian had marvelous adventures, met old friends when King Edmund and Queen Lucy appeared out of thin air, discovered new and wondrous things, and travelled as far East as Aslan allowed.

The most wonderful discovery of all was found on a small, eastern island: Ramandu's daughter, the most beautiful woman Caspian had ever met. Oh, surely she was not in fact more beautiful than Susan, her golden hair making her face a little too white, pale eyelashes nearly invisible surrounding wide, green eyes. She was what many would consider lovely, but not a beauty of the Gentle Queen's caliber. To Caspian, however, not even Susan's dark hair and sky-blue eyes could compare to this daughter of the star. Her eyes were soft and kind, but she carried an air of quiet power and silent strength that entranced Caspian. Her words were calm and gentle, and in their conversations Caspian found that, though her likes and dislikes differed in some respects, her love of Aslan, of Narnia and the world mirrored his own love most completely. By the end of the first day on Ramandu's island, Caspian felt his heart tugging at him whenever she was near and he found himself actively seeking to speak with her, or just to stand in her entrancing presence. When they returned from leaving Edmund, Lucy, Eustace, and Reepicheep at the End of the World, at the first sight of the star's daughter Caspian forgot his regrets at being left behind. By the time the _Dawn Treader _had re-provisioned and was ready to set sail back to Narnia, Caspian knew that this woman was the other half of his heart. Their wedding was one of the most joyous days of his life, and Caspian never lost the stars in his eyes whenever his bride was near.

In the years afterwards, Caspian always remembered Susan and their friendship fondly. He never regretted meeting her, sharing those experiences together. He never regretted kissing her goodbye. But Caspian thanked Aslan fervently every morning when he woke up next to his wife, every day when he played with his golden-haired son, every night when his queen slept in his loving embrace, that his life had taken this path, for he could not imagine living without the woman who was his soul's greatest treasure.

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No, I could not bring myself to actually write a Suspian story. Though I accept, begrudgingly, that there was a Susan/Caspian flirtation in the movie, I will never, _ever_ accept that they are soul mates just because of one good-bye kiss. Caspian's soul mate is Ramandu's daughter, full stop.


End file.
